barryhill123

going to Northern Sweden to see northern lights want to be sure I capture good shots and video
I will be using a Nikon D750

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

If I was making this dream trip I would take my 20mm f1.8, 30mm f1.4, and 50mm f1.4.
Of course I'd take a bunch of other lenses for daytime but I digress.
Best of luck and please post pics on return.

DAMcCoy

You could pack lighter and take a 14-24 f2.8. A very sharp lens.

PatM Loc: Rocky Mount Mo.

I was in Iceland and saw the northern lights on Christmas Eve while serving in the military about 15 or so years back. But by the middle of January the day and night cycle starts its change and there comes a point where there is only a very short period of night. So I only say this in hope that you have incorporated the solar cycles of the northern countries you visit or you might have a ruined vacation. You most surely have done this but if not it is something to think about.
“So, the opposite of midnight sun is called polar night. ... The northern countries Sweden, Finland, Iceland are also located in the northern hemisphere north of the Arctic Circle, however, major parts of Norway is within the northern hemisphere, which is why it got the nickname "land of the midnight sun".

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I agree with 20mm f1.8, 30mm f1.4, and 50mm f1.4, but do not know what your budget is.
Welcome to UHH and create some awesome images. If you need a coach to go with you, let me know. I can let you use my D800 and 12 lenses.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Minimum of 20mm. Wider is better. 14 would be great.

Jim Bob

Sigma 35, f1.4 Art.

CO

I know someone who does a lot of night photography with a Nikon D750. He uses the Nikon 20mm f/1.8 lens.

ronichas Loc: Long Island

I have the Rokinon 14 mm f2.8 lens, recommended by Gabe Bidderman from B&H. This is the lens I used for the milky way in Africa and the Aurora in Iceland. It is a relatively inexpensive but great lens.

Wanda Krack Loc: Tennessee, USA

The 14-24mm lens works great for shooting the northern lights. You will want a wide angle for sure.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I agree with above Plus the Rokinon 24 mm

Pegasus Loc: Texas Gulf Coast

The Winter (or Hibernal) Solstice is on December 21 this year, also known as the first day of winter. This marks the period of the longest night and shortest day in the northern hemisphere. Starting on December 22nd, the nights get shorter and the days get longer until the next Solstice, the Summer Solstice on June 21st, also known as the first day of summer. We also have the vernal and autumnal equinoxes when the days have equal lengths of day and night, March 21st or thereabouts for spring and September 21st or thereabouts for fall. Everything is reversed for the Southern Hemisphere. So it's not in the middle of Janhuary.



Sweden and Iceland only a have a small portion of their country in the Arctic Circle. Iceland is NOT within the Arctic circle, there is only one little island that is in the Arctic Circle. A good portion of Norway is north of the arctic circle and also north of Sweden and Finland where it abuts with Russia.

The Northern Lights are a phenomenon caused by particles from the Sun hitting the atmosphere of the Earth. The vast majority of these particles are deflected by the Earth's magnetic field but around the Magnetic North Pole, this magnetic field is very weak to non-existent so that's were these lights occur. The Magnetic North Pole moves around a lot because of Global Warming. In the early 1970s I was stationed near James Bay in Northern Quebec and at the time the Magnetic North Pole was to our northwest and not that far. Even in summertime, with a short night of 1 to 2 hours, the display of the Northern Lights was awesome. They came on as soon as the sun went down around midnight and stayed on until the sun rose again less than two hours later.

The North Magnetic Pole has been moving further north and faster because of accelerated Global Warming and so the Northern Lights have moved further north. The last time I was in Sweden I did not seen any northern lights but it was fall already and while I was pretty far north, it's possible I was not far enough.

Definitely, you need a fast lens. I would also suggest a tripod. The problem is that the Sun is extremely quiet now, because of Global Warming and there are no sunspots and very little activity. The Northern Lights really come alive when the Sun is active.

And if you listen very carefully, and you're out of the city and it's quiet around you, you can actually hear the Northern Lights as they crackle across the sky.

Good luck.

rwww80a Loc: Hampton, NH

Wide and fast. What ever your budget can withstand. Remember the earth is revolving so long exposures will result is star streaks. Vary your exposure times.
Take a look at the web articles for night photography it's not as easy as point and shoot.

nikonkelly Loc: SE Michigan

I do a lot of night work as in cityscapes, fireworks, Christmas lights, but the northern lights only a couple of times because we are in southern michigan which is often times too far south or way too cloudy to see them. When I do shoot something that is often a panoramic type shot, I use a nikon 20-35 2.8. Any wide fast lens will work, but you want something wide to get as much in the image as possible. I say fast because it is not uncommon to need a long exposure because the northern lights are always not real bright... northern sweeden will help but not guarantee a bright and obvious subject.

I would also suggest that you get subscribed to Aurora alerts which is a free texting service that will tell you when the aurora is building or coming to an end. sure you will need data while you are there, but it might well make the difference between a successful trip and a bust.

And lastly, since I dont know your experience level, as one of the other posters said, if you are not going right away, you might have an issue with the midnight sun. I was in Norway 2.5 years ago from July 1 until 19th and never saw darkness... I knew that it would be that way, but had I been going to see the northern lights, I could have been very disappointed had i not known. But if you go now, you will be able to them just about all day long and all night too so that if there are no clouds, then you will have many chances to see and capture... be sure to use a long exposure and high iso 3200-6400 most likely depending upon the intensity because you dont want to go over about 25 or 30 seconds otherwise you will get star trails. You will be in manual mode and on a stable tripod so you will have to just look at your LCD screen to know when you get enough light, but not over exposed! And lastly good luck!

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art is a complete Hoover when it comes to night time photography. When in a group shooting the Milky Way or Star Trails, everybody else will be at ISO 400+ to capture the stars. I have to be at ISO 320 or everything looks like daylight.